Stereotypes About Women In The Middle East Summary

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Pages: 3

The article “Stereotypes about Women in the Middle East” by Mahek Punjabi talks about how people often stereotype other groups of people and make controversial judgements about them. There can be positive and negative stereotypes. These stereotypes can be harmful to society because they oversimplify people’s qualities and create an inaccurate image of them, leading to discrimination. There were several stereotypes listed in this article that relates to the book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. This book is an autobiographical graphic novel that talks about Marji’s childhood up to her early years in Iran during and after Islamic Revolution.
One of the stereotype listed in the article was that women in the Middle East are uneducated, oppressed and forced to wear
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Prude is a person who claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex. In the article, Mahek states, “sex is only acceptable after marriage, when it is approved by parents, sanctioned by religion and state-approved. Women are also shunned from sexual activity outside of marriage, birth control, abortion and homosexuality.” This relates to the event when Marji’s friend Julie throws a party. The party is something Marji is not used to, since everyone is smoking, lying around, and making out. Later on, Marji hears Julie having sex, and she is embarrassed and shocked. Marji faces the realities of Western culture and the sexual revolution.
Also the article talks about how Middle Eastern women are smokers. According to Mahek, smoking is a cultural norm even for women in the Middle East, although they are just as likely as Western women to smoke cigarettes. Marji found herself getting into drugs when she finds out that Enrique is not interested in her. In addition, she becomes a drug dealer and started selling drugs to students at her school. The principal gave her warning, Marji stops selling drugs, and therefore, she starts smoking more and